Chris Bourque

HARTFORD — A year ago, the Hartford Wolf Pack rebuilt their roster on the fly and made a frantic playoff push in the final stretch of the season. But they were in too deep of a hole after starting the season with inexperienced players and fell short of the postseason, even after winning 18 of their final 25 games. It marked the second year in a row the franchise missed the playoffs and the third time in five years. That's not what the decision-makers at Madison Square Garden want from their American Hockey League affiliate. And that's why Hartford's roster looked considerably different this season. The Wolf Pack didn't just add veterans, they added players...

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New York Rangers forward Martin St. Louis is retiring after 16 NHL seasons, seven All-Star selections and one Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.St. Louis made the announcement Thursday, roughly a month after helping the Rangers reach the Eastern...

HARTFORD — A year ago, the Hartford Wolf Pack rebuilt their roster on the fly and made a frantic playoff push in the final stretch of the season.
But they were in too deep of a hole after starting the season with inexperienced players and fell short of...

HARTFORD — In February, the Hartford Wolf Pack were battling for a playoff spot and were viewed as little more than a middle-of-the-pack team in the American Hockey League.
As their season ended at the XL Center, the Wolf Pack had evolved into a top-tier...

HARTFORD — The Wolf Pack's 18th AHL season in Hartford ended at 9:15 Wednesday night. Save for Dylan McIlrath's arena-shaking hits, their best playoff run since 2004 would end with too little noise in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Wolf Pack were...

HARTFORD — With talent and experience sprinkled throughout their roster, the Manchester Monarchs were the best team in the American Hockey League this season.
The Los Angeles Kings' affiliate had two of the top three scorers in the league. As a team, the...

Format: Best-of-seven series.Schedule for first four games: Game 1 is Thursday at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester (7 p.m.). Game 2 is Saturday in Manchester, Game 3 Tuesday at the XL Center, Game 4 Wednesday at XL Center.Matchup:...

HARTFORD — When the Hartford Wolf Pack last played in the Eastern Conference finals, Ken Gernander was 34 years old and completing the second-to-last season of his playing career.
As the Wolf Pack return to conference finals this week, Gernander is...

The last time he scored two goals in a playoff game, Marek Hrivik barely knew where Hartford was on the map. He was a 20-year-old undrafted free agent with one foot on a flight from Canada that was supposed to land him in Vienna on his way home to...

HARTFORD — Forced from their home by a circus, the Hartford Wolf Pack spent 10 days shuttling from Connecticut to Pennsylvania to Massachusetts.
As they returned to the warm embrace of the XL Center crowd Friday night, the team was motivated by the...

HARTFORD — After more than five hours on highways between Hershey, Pa., and Hartford, the players arrived at their hockey home Thursday afternoon.
The post-circus XL Center is again a hockey rink and the Wolf Pack are returning to the ice. After...

WORCESTER — From one end of their temporary home ice to the other, the Hartford Wolf Pack played with passion and intelligence.
From the first faceoff to the sound of the game-ending horn in the nearly empty DCU Center Monday night, the team from...

WORCESTER — They have no time to sulk. They have no time to pout. They have no time to put on one of those sad clown faces and feel sorry for themselves.If the Worcester Wolf Pack drop another game on Monday night, they might as well kiss their season...

HERSHEY, Pa.— After riding an early lead to victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Hartford Wolf Pack let a two-goal advantage slip in Game 2 Friday night, allowing the Bears to even the series by winning 6-4.The Bears let a...

Hartford leads best-of-seven series 1-0.Game 1 recap: Chris Bourque, a former Hershey Bear, beat his old team for the Wolf Pack Wednesday night at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., scoring at 16:47 of overtime to give the Wolf Pack a 2-1...

CROMWELL – The bus was idling outside the Champions Skating Center early Tuesday afternoon as players were boarding for a road trip.The Hartford Wolf Pack's nomadic playoff existence began with a journey to Hershey, Pa., where the team will start an AHL...

PROVIDENCE — The day after skating through 102 minutes of hockey, the Hartford Wolf Pack rested and regrouped.
The players gathered themselves Monday, after losing a triple-overtime game to the Providence Bruins the night before. They skated, hung out in...

PROVIDENCE — Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Barons were facing elimination in a best-of-five Calder Cup playoff series against the Charlotte Checkers.The series was even after two games, but the Checkers skated to a 6-1 victory in Game 3 and the final...

HARTFORD —For the first 40 minutes, the Hartford Wolf Pack skated one stride ahead of the Providence Bruins and seemed destined for another victory in their playoff series.For the final 20 minutes, the Wolf Pack stalled and the Bruins seized control. When...

HARTFORD — For six weeks, the pattern has been the same.The Hartford Wolf Pack have played smart and efficient at both ends of the ice, scoring timely goals and limiting chances in front of their goaltender. And when there was an opportunity, the goalie —...

HARTFORD — As the season winds down and the playoffs approach, the goal of every American Hockey League team is the same: grab some momentum, win some games and carry some swagger into the postseason.Three years ago, the Norfolk Admirals did that better...